Sunday Telegraph letter calls for rejection of Children, Schools and Families Bill

I am grateful to two priest friends of mine, Fathers Marcus Holden and Mark Swires, for bringing this news to my attention. Here is what they tell us.

In today's Sunday Telegraph there is an amazing letter calling for the rejection of the CFS bill and it is signed by three English Catholic bishops. It seems the silence has been broken. Dozens of leading Catholics have also attacked government plans to restrict the role of parents in education and to introduce invasive sex education into schools throughout England and Wales. More than 2000 signatories have called for parliament to reject the proposed Children, Schools and Families Bill. Three bishops, several leaders of monasteries and religious congregations, philosophers and theologians, over 100 Catholic headteachers and governors and more than 200 priests and deacons have signed a letter written to the editor of the Telegraph by Mr Norman Wells, director of Family Education Trust. They join a long list of prominent non-Catholic signatories including a huge number of distressed heads, governors and teachers, ministers from many different Christian denominations, Muslim leaders and even concerned atheists. Their concern is specifically for the common good of the country which they believe will be undermined if the bill becomes law. The proposed legislation they say, 'seeks to impose a particular ideology' on children, families and schools and unjustly denies parents and guardians the right to raise children according to their own culture and values.

This is the letter which can be found together with another letter in the Comment section of The Telegraph website under the heading "The religious rights of Christians are treated with disrespect":

Parents and guardians have the primary responsibility for bringing up their children in accordance with their own values and culture. They may entrust the task of formal education to a school of their choice, but the overall responsibility for the upbringing of their children remains theirs.
The Children, Schools and Families Bill undermines this principle and seeks to impose a particular ideology by means of statutory sex and relationships education. We would therefore urge members of the House of Lords decisively to oppose it.
A state which seeks to centralise responsibilities which are properly fulfilled by families is acting in an unjust manner and undermines the basis of a free society.

Here is a list of some of the Catholics who have signed:

Bishop Brian Noble – Shrewsbury Diocese
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue
Bishop Mark Davies (Co-Adjutor of Shrewsbury)
Fr Aidan Nichols OP Theologian Blackfriars Cambridge
Rt Rev Francis Baird OSB – Abbot Prinknash Abbey
Rev Dr Louis Caruana SJ - Philosopher Heathrop College
Rev Matthew Burns Parish Priest Ampleforth Abbey
Fr Leo Chamberlain – Former Headmaster of Ampleforth Abbey
Monsignor G M Dasey – Vicar General Middlesborough
Rev P Dillon OMI Director of Missionary Association of Mary
Fr Tom Finigan – Chairmen of APGL
Rev John Fordham – Vice Provost of the London Oratory
Mgr. Timothy Galligan (formerly of the Council for Christian Unity at the Vatican)
Canon Jeremy Garrett – Rector of St John’s Seminary Wonersh
Canon A T Hayes – Diocesan Safeguarding Officer
Maureen Hurst – School Governor/President of Union of Mothers – Salford Diocese
Neville Kyrke-Smith - National Director Aid to the Church in Need
Tim Matthews - Editor National Association of Catholic Families
Canon T A McBride Episcopal Vicar for Formation and Cathedral Dean – Salford Diocese
Professor David Paton – Governor and Professor of Industrial Economics - Nottingham University Business School
Dr Andrew Pinsent Senior Research Fellow, Theology Faculty, Oxford University
Fr John Saward - Theologian Oxford University
Rev Dom Antony Sutch (former headmaster of Downside)
Fr Luis Tomas Superior Consolata Fathers
Dr Petroc Willey Dean of Graduate Research Maryvale Institute (Deputy Director of Institute)


Another article in today's Sunday Telegraph, entitled 'Senior bishops call for end to persecution of Christians in Britain' by Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs correspondent, which as well as mentioning objections to general anti-Christian feeling, refers to the letter by Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, on the CFS bill:

Christians are also increasingly concerned that the Government is ignoring their views on issues such as sex education and homosexuality when introducing new legislation.
A group of 640 head teachers, school governors and faith leaders have signed a separate letter to this newspaper warning that compulsory sex education in primary schools will erode moral standards and encourage sexual experimentation.
They call for the dropping of legislation that will see children as young as seven taught about sex and relationships.

Today's Sunday Telegraph also carries an excellent article on page 2 which does not appear to be available on the Telegraph website:

and a further article on the same page about school outings to sexual health clinics aimed at "demystifying" the consequences of unprotected sex and preparing children!!! for visits later in life (so we anticipate that the children of this generation will need these services - of course, because they are being groomed for promiscuity):

(Just click on these articles and then magnify them in your picture viewer. Both pictures supplied to me by Father Mark Swires.)

Let's hope people take note of this weekend's publicity and that this horrible tide of corruption of our young people be stemmed.